Originally, this was supposed to be a One-shot, but, well, it got kind of big for that. So, in the end, I decided to make this a multi-chaptered fic. Hopefully, not too multi-chaptered, though; I still have my other fics that I'm working on.
Also, I'd like to thank Daneel Rush for coming up with (and letting me use) the summary for this story.
Seductive Shadows
Plotmon
Shit. This was bad. This was really bad.
Takato would have voiced those thoughts aloud, but he didn't have breath to spare as he ran.
In hindsight, entering that portal had been a really bad idea.
It had been months since the departure of Guilmon and the other Digimon and life had gone on. Things were different now, though; the world had learnt of Digimon and they also knew about the ones who'd saved them from the D-Reaper.
After all, they'd done it on television. Naked.
Takato would have flushed if the situation had allowed for it. He'd blushed a lot in the last few months, every time it was brought up. And it was, often.
By girls.
But besides the fame and the publicity and the embarrassment, life had gone on. He still went to school, his home was a bakery, and he still played Digimon with his friends. Granted, it was a little bit different now; everyone in school knew his name and he'd gone from being a face in the crowd to being the most popular kid in school. The bakery was now doing very, very well, benefiting from his fame by an increase in profits; apparently there were even going to be trademarks and stuff on the Guilmon bread. And, of course, his group of friends had increased quite a bit, going from Hirokazu and Kenta to the entire Tamer team.
Life was good. Not perfect; Guilmon would have to come back for it to be perfect. But good.
And then he'd found that gate at Guilmon's shed.
He'd taken it as a good sign, of course. He'd get to see his best friend again! What could be better?
Of course, then he'd been forced to think logically. The Digital World was a dangerous place; he knew that. Without Guilmon there to protect him, the odds of something bad happening were just this side of garmented.
So he was going to call Hypnos. Well, okay, fine. He was going to call all his friends and then he was going to call Hypnos.
Things hadn't quite happened that way.
It was hard to explain what happened next. He was cursing himself for not having a cell phone and was about to leave the shed. More than anything, he was worried about the portal closing before he got back.
And then he'd stopped.
No…he'd been stopped. He remembered that clearly; he was walking and suddenly he couldn't move.
And then he'd heard a voice.
In hindsight, he was cursing himself. A voice with no apparent origin was talking to him. He should know that was a bad sign. Stuff like that never ended well for him. Never.
So why the hell did he listen to that voice?
"Tamer…come to me, Tamer. I need you. Help me."
Someone had been asking for help. Maybe that was it? Maybe he was just a sucker for someone in need?
The fact that it had sounded like a woman hadn't helped at all.
But that still didn't explain it.
Why? Why the hell would he do this?
Why the hell would he walk through the gate without even calling someone?
It may not have been smart, but he would have jumped in if someone was in danger. But he would have at least called someone and told them that he was about to do something stupid. Jenrya and Ruki would kick his ass for it later, no doubt, but if they knew where he was they could at least do something about it. And he wouldn't have to worry his parents- okay, that was a lie. His parents would worry anyway. And rightly so!
But they would have known where he was, at least, right?
And so now he was in the Digital World. Alone. With little to no hope of rescue or backup. And when he got back, if he got back at all, Ruki and Jenrya and his parents and Hypnos and probably some other people he was forgetting were going to make him suffer.
Still, he would have preferred to suffer at the hands of people that cared about him if given a choice between that and his current situation.
Truth be told, he was pretty lucky. The area he'd landed in was pretty barren, lacking tree roots, thick plants, cracked earth, large rocks, sand, deep water, or scattered rubble; things he'd come to expect from the Digital World but which, nonetheless, made it really hard to run for your life. It would have been better if he was in a city area and had buildings to hide in or behind, but it was better than most of the areas he'd been through last time.
That still didn't change the fact that he was running through a level of the Digital World with no cover while being chased by a…what was that?
Takato risked a glance back and realized he didn't recognize the Digimon chasing him. It looked like a Monochromon, but…no, it wasn't a Monochromon. It's 'horn' was more like a blade then a horn. That armor plating was different too.
But it was that blade he was worried about. It was huge.
The only reason he was even still alive was because the 'Monochromon' had a hard time suddenly changing directions, a flaw he'd shamelessly exploited. That, and the fact that it was easy to run.
But that didn't change the fact he was getting tired. And as soon as he started slowing down…
"Help me…I need your help…Tamer…"
That voice again. Takato was of half a mind to flat-out ignore it, since it had gotten him into this in the first place, but he began running towards where he thought it was coming from anyway.
Mainly because he didn't have any other options. He had to hope he was heading towards something that could help him.
Which was unlikely, since the voice was calling for help.
Unless it was a trap, he realized.
He frowned at that thought. Specifically, at the hope it inspired.
He was hoping that he was running into a trap?
The 'Monochromon' roared, apparently getting tired of this chase.
Takato shifted directions as quickly as he could, figuring that the 'Monochromon' was going to try to rush him.
It wasn't, but it still turned out to be a good move as the spot where he'd been a second ago exploded.
That was Monochromon's Volcano Strike, or something that looked just like it. Then was that actually a 'Monochromon'?
But it was so different. In fact, it wasn't the only thing that was different.
Takato continued looking forward as he ran. He could see the horizon but nothing else. No buildings. No natural features. No Digimon.
It just went on and on, a dead, lifeless land.
What had happened to this place? What had happened to the Digital World?
Takato's eyes widened as a thought hit him.
And…if something had happened to the Digital World…
What had happened to Guilmon?
"I know the answers…Tamer…I'll tell you…if you help me…"
Takato's eyes and resolve hardened.
"I'll help you if I can. Just tell me where you are."
He didn't receive a reply. Not in words at least.
Even so, the pillar of light that came down upon him was hard to miss.
XxXXxX
The Monochromon looked in confusion at the spot Takato once held. He had no idea what was going on; one second he'd been there, the next he was gone.
But though he didn't know how it had happened, he did know what had happened.
His prey had escaped.
He didn't even have a chance to feel disappointed, though.
His eyes widened as he snapped his head to the side.
They were here.
Fear took him, then. Fear born of the knowledge of what was coming.
Death is not a hunter unbeknownst to its prey.
But even so, it would try.
Monochromon turned and ran, cursing the flat plane that was all that was left of this area. It was probably going to be erased soon and, if he survived, he would see the new world.
But in all likelihood, he wouldn't live to see it.
How disappointing.
"Monochromon X." A voice echoed across the area.
Monochromon wasn't stupid enough to look around for its source.
"You are in violation of the will of Yggdrasil. You have resisted the X-Program by gaining illegal possession of the X-Antibody and have attempted to violate the New Digital World by entering the Urd Terminal. Do you have anything to say in your defense?" The voice asked.
Monochromon roared a reply, but it turned into an agonized scream before it was even out of his mouth and a blast of energy took him in the side.
He exploded into data a moment later.
"I didn't think so." It said, a bit disappointed.
The owner of the voice landed on the ground and the data of the slain Monochromon began to gravitate towards him. He absorbed it dutifully; standard procedure when dealing with X Digimon.
If you didn't absorb them, the X-Antibody could spread.
But as he absorbed the Monochromon's memory data, he felt something. He couldn't gain another Digimon's memories this way, but he still felt something as he absorbed the most recent of the saved data.
He looked to the West, thoughtfully.
"Is there a problem?" A voice asked him, as if speaking in his ear.
His 'partner.' Or, at least, the Digimon that Yggdrasil had named as his partner.
He closed his eyes for a moment before turning away from whatever he was looking at.
He only had one partner.
"It's nothing." He said.
Dukemon took to the skies.
XxXXxX
Takato found himself on a beach he didn't recognize.
But then, he didn't recognize anything in this world anymore.
The Ocean was full of dark waters, the land a lifeless gray. Even the color of his clothes seemed to have been sucked out.
More unnervingly, despite the lack of moving light sources, shadows seemed to writhe around him.
Takato cast them a nervous glance before calling out.
"I'm here, whoever you are! Where are you!? What do you need me for!?"
Takato wasn't sure what he should have been expecting, but a whining noise wasn't it.
Takato whirled around and found a still shape on the shore. The dark waves beat against her and she seemed to be injured as even that caused her pain.
Takato hurried to it and found something he did recognize, if only vaguely.
A beaten Plotmon lay still in the sand. It was covered in wounds that could only have been inflicted.
Takato's heart hurt just looking at her. The Digital World had always been bad, but…now it seemed even worse.
What had happened?
"Were you the one who called me?" Takato asked. He doubted it; the voice he'd heard wasn't on he'd expect from a Child level.
The Plotmon managed to open one eye, but that seemed to be all it could do.
Takato closed his eyes for a moment. It didn't matter. He was here now; he'd help.
"Come on. I know some basic first aid." Takato said, doing his best to be gentle as he picked her up.
XxXXxX
Later that day, as the dim Sun of this dark world began to set, he stroked the Child Digimon's fur while sitting on the shore.
He didn't know anything about Digimon Medicine or Biology, but he was aware of how strong they were. He was pretty sure she'd be okay.
"Were you the one who called me here?" He asked again. She'd fade out of consciousness a few hours before and had woken up again twenty something minutes ago.
Her eyes glimmered with confusion, which Takato took as a no.
"There doesn't seem to be anyone else in here right now. I think…I think whoever called me here was bringing me to you. Do you know who'd do something like that?" He asked, moving deft fingers to scratch behind her ears. She leaned into his touch after a moment.
"No." She said. She sounded as weak as she looked. "There's no one."
"You can't think of anyone who'd want to help you?" Takato asked. She moved her head a fraction; the closest she could get to shaking it without injuring herself.
Takato closed his eyes for a moment.
"I'm here." He said after a moment. "I want to help you. If anybody else asks you that question, tell them Matsuda Takato would want to help you."
"Takato…"
He smiled as she tried out his name before they lapsed into silence.
"Hey, how'd you get here?" Takato asked.
"…Huh?"
"I got her in a weird, pillar of light descending from the Heavens thing, but what about you. How'd you get on this shore in your shape?"
"…I was running from…someone. I wished I was anywhere else…anywhere they couldn't get me and…and then…I was here." Plotmon said. "How…?"
Takato looked down at her. She sounded like she really didn't know.
"Sometimes things happen that we don't understand. Things that we can't explain. And we call them Miracles."
"…Miracles…?" She said, disbelieving.
"You don't believe in Miracles, Plotmon?" He asked, smiling gently.
Plotmon shook her head again.
"I do. I just saw one. You were in danger, and you found yourself whisked away to a safe place. I was being chased, and a pillar of light sent me to the aid of a damsel in distress."
Plotmon laughed at that, which seemed to hurt her.
"Damsel?" She asked, smiling wryly at him.
"Of course! I may not look like it without my partner here, but…I moonlight as a knight in shining armor, you know."
"My hero." She said, playing along. "But who'd send a knight in shining armor to save me?"
"It's a Miracles; who knows? Maybe God? Or a Digital Equivalent."
Plotmon bared her teeth.
"I doubt this world's God would send anyone to rescue me."
Takato frowned at that.
"Oh?"
XxXXxX
"Yggdrasil? Who's that?" Takato asked, frowning.
"Yggdrasil is the 'God' of this world."
"He's not doing a very good job; this place has gone to hell." Takato commented
Plotmon laughed mockingly.
"Oh, he's doing a very good job! At destroying the entire world!"
Takato's eyes widened at that.
"What?"
"Yggdrasil apparently decided the Digital World had gotten a bit too crowded and, apparently the only way to deal with the problem was to kill 98% of all the Digimon in existence! He and his servants wanted to kill us all!"
Takato listened in silent, morbid fascination.
"Of course, nobody in their right mind was gonna go along with that; we resisted." Her face became grim. "And he released the X-Virus in retaliation."
"The X-Virus?"
"His goal was to kill 98% of the population. The X-Virus was how he succeeded. He moved the 2% he wanted to keep into his 'new' Digital World and he unleashed the X-Virus on everyone left behind—and it killed almost everyone."
"Almost…Plotmon, before I came here, I was being chased by a Monochromon thing. It looked different, but I'm sure that was a Monochromon. What about the Digimon the X-Virus didn't kill?"
"They adapted. Evolved. They're called X Digimon; the Digimon that survived, whether due to their own strength or mere luck, internalized the X-Virus and developed an Antibody. In the process, they were altered somehow; it increased their power and changed their appearances."
"So…that really was Monochromon?"
"Technically, he'd be Monochromon X if he'd been changed; that's what we call them. But yeah."
"What about you? Are you Plotmon X?" Takato asked, looking at her in confusion. "You look like a normal Plotmon."
She looked at the ground as if ashamed.
"No. I wasn't strong enough, my luck is horrible, and Yggdrasil had no reason to spare me. I was just another Digimon that was going to die. Still am, I guess."
Takato closed his eyes again.
"You're not going to die. Not while I'm here. I'd have to turn in my shining goggles if I could save at least one person from the X-Virus."
Plotmon didn't say anything in reply.
XxXXxX
Takato was bored. And thankful! But mainly bored.
Plotmon had been in really bad shape and it had taken most of two days for her to heal—which was a long, long time for a Digimon.
But she had healed. Her body seemed a bit stiff, but she could walk without feeling pain. That was why he was thankful—well, that and the fact that he didn't need to eat in the Digital World, because there was nothing to eat or do in this dark place.
And that was the reason he was bored; because he was still stuck in this place. Now that Plotmon could walk, they were moving down the beach, but no matter how far they moved, nothing seemed to change. They were stuck in this dark, faded world.
And while on one hand, there didn't seem to be anyone else in here, meaning it was safe—something he was thankful for since without Guilmon he would largely amount to a chew toy if anything found him—on the other hand…
He couldn't find Guilmon in here, either. After hearing what was going on, Takato was worried. What if Guilmon had been caught by the X-Virus? Is he alive right now? Did he adapt? Did he get chosen to move into the new Digital World?
He had to find out.
But even so, he didn't want to drag Plotmon into his own issues. It would be dangerous and the odds of him getting hurt or dying were high and he couldn't force that on her; especially not after what she'd already been though.
Though, in the end, he supposed it didn't really matter. He had no way out and there was nothing he could do, so he was stuck here anyway.
Lacking any other option, he fell back on the only method left to him when it came dispelling boredom and tried to strike up a conversation with his companion.
"Hey, Plotmon, what were you doing before this whole thing started?" He asked. A part of him was nervous about inquiring about her past, but he was running out of conversational topics. The truth of the matter was, if you took away everything about Guilmon, another topic he'd tried to avoid thus far, he was a pretty boring person.
"…Waiting."
That sounded interesting.
"Oh? For who? Is there someone out there waiting for you?" He asked, smiling.
"I don't know." She said, sounding frustrated. "But ever since I hatched as Nyaromon, I've always felt there was someone I was supposed to wait for. I waited so long…I was always waiting…"
And now it was sounding sad.
"Did you ever find them?" He asked, secretly hoping this was one of those stories that started grim but became better and didn't end with Dark Oceans and X-Viruses and Genocides.
Yes, he was aware that was futile.
Plotmon shook her head.
Takato winced. He tried to think of something to say to lighten the mood and drag her thoughts away from what she must have been thinking—if nearly 98% of the Digital World had died, what were the odds that she'd ever find who she was looking for? It was the safe question he'd been trying to ignore since he first thought of it—because if the odds of one person surviving that were low, what were the odds that all of his friends would make it out okay?
"I'm looking for someone, too." He told her, before kicking himself mentally.
Yeah, this would make her feel better, you dumbass.
Plotmon looked at him, though, and when he looked into her eyes he felt like continuing for some reason.
"His name's Guilmon. He's my friend. Partner, too. The two of us…we went through a lot together. I…I want to find him, so I came here. But…I was attacked. I'm not strong enough to do anything in this world by myself." He continued, embarrassed.
God, this was getting depressing.
"…Me, too." Plotmon said, understandingly.
"What?"
"Me, too. When I evolved into Plotmon, I…I stopped waiting and started searching. I wanted to find the person I was waiting for so badly, but… but I couldn't. No matter how far or hard or long I searched, I couldn't find them—I nearly died trying to find them and I couldn't. And now…"
They looked at each other sympathetically.
Takato silently noted that if this continued, they were probably going to drown in their own depression or something. Hell, the world even seemed darker now, and the black waters of the ocean seemed to be sneaking higher and higher whenever he looked away for a moment, like jealous, grasping claws.
Takato was unnerved by that observation, but passed it off as being high-tide.
He looked back at Plotmon and drew on wisdom forged from experience.
If the emo gets too high, you just have to smack it back down.
"I'll help you." He declared, startling the Child.
"What?" She asked, blinking up at him.
"I'll help you find who you're looking for. I promise that I'll help you find them. And I'll take you there safely, too." He smiled at her, kneeling down. "My word as a knight."
She looked up at him in awe. Was she that surprised that he'd do this?
He reached out and gently lifted her chin.
"Don't look so surprised…We're friends, aren't we?"
Her expression brightened after a moment. Or maybe it was the world. Was it this bright a minute ago?
Takato looked around.
It seemed almost…colorful, now.
"Yeah! Me, too!"
He didn't understand that last part, so he looked back at the small Digimon.
"Hm?"
"I'll help you, too. I'll help you find Guilmon. We'll…find them together."
Takato opened his mouth to reply, though even he wasn't sure what he was going to say, but the words would never be spoken.
Because around them, the world shattered. Cracks grew in thin air before the entire thing broke like a pane of glass and feel out of existence. And when it did…
They were nowhere near the ocean. They were in a forest; a beautiful, colorful forest full of life and splendor.
The two of them looked around in amazement at the sheer magnificence of it. Neither of them had ever seen anything like this before.
"This…this is…" Plotmon stuttered. "The new Digital World."
"It's beautiful." Takato breathed.
"What do we do?" She asked.
Takato turned back towards her with a wide grin. "Isn't it obvious? We have people to find. Let's go find them together."
And so the set forth, taking their first steps into a new world. So far, they were alone; Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
But would it last?
Unlikely. Because even if he was Adam…
She was no Eve.
XxXXxX